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I need help for "JET LAG"


OnionEater
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Anyone have any cures or ideas to help with JET LAG? I am heading to Japan on Nov.1 till the 21st. Have been taken pine bark extract and will take melatonin when I arrive. Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

Leaving from Portland ME to Chicago then non-stop to Tokyo, connecting to Fukuoka in Southern Japan and then on to Oita where my daughter lives.

Will be doing a lot of touring around the Island of Kyushu and spending 3 days in Kyoto.

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Well, what has always worked for me is a product called "No More Jet Lag" - may be marketed in the US as "Jet Ease". Used to be in a slim white box with a blue plan on the front, very simple. It is a bunch of herbal extracts in a white tablet that you munch every two hours. Quite pleasant tasting. Buy in pharmacy or at airport.

I have made many very lengthy plane journeys, literally from one side of the world to the other, the furthest points you can get apart. It's very tiring, as you might imagine. (There's a good reason why people do not commute between the uK and New Zealand...and it's not just cost!) When I have taken these tablets, I have arrived tired but fresh the other end. I have adjusted quickly with a longer night's sleep when I arrive, but no adjustment deficit that makes me feel hung over for the next three days. They work equally well no matter which way round you travel.

As these have been so successful, I thought maybe I was imagining their effect...till I forgot or ran out or something, part way through a journey. The next few days in NZ were appallingly jetlagged. But when I have taken the tabs, I've lived a completely normal life and been fit enough to take off on some demanding physical exploits.

Have a great trip, sounds wonderful!

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Calling Dr. Aar, calling Dr. Aar....Dr. Aar please pickup your page.

Sorry, I was out on another call...

O.K., for the trip TO Japan, I wouldn't be concerned. I've never had any Jet Lag symptoms from flying there. You'll be a little dopey and out of synch, but only by a few hours. If you're on one of the regular carriers, you'll arrive late afternoon (4 or 5 p.m.). Drink lots and go to bed at a regular (Japanese) time. You'll be fine in the morning, though you'll get up way too early. (the line you'll need to know is "biiru mo ippai onnagaishimasu" - "another bottle of beer please" - Sapporo is the one I always drink, but they're all good)

Coming back home is where the Jet Lag always catches up with me. I always request a seat with three or four empty seats next to it, you'd be surprised how often you can get that, especially in November. Sleep all you can on the flight home. That's the only thing that helps me...

Doitashimadange,

Joji

When you're around Kyoto, try to stop by Nara (and the Daibutsudan). It's one of my favorite spots there, though I'm sure your daughter must have plenty...

Edited by George Aar
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OH, also, when you're in Kyoto, have yushaku (supper) at "Gonko" (the name means "Stubborn" - ). It's a tea house/Geisha house/restaurant that's been operating on that site since the Momoyama period (about 500 years now). The garden surrounding the place all dates from that era I'm told. Anyway, there's often a Maiko or Geiko playing the koto at the front entry, there's still private tea rooms in the back, and a very traditional menu (which is really not that unusual, but). It's not spectacular, but it is pretty neat, and gives you a real taste of what Tokogawa-period Japan must have been like.

Oh, and also near Kyoto, is Byodoin (it's the building that's pictured on the back of the Japanese dime). It's easily the most beautiful building in Japan - REALLY...

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TWINKY

I sent for some of the "Jet Ease" tablets, thanks.

GEORGE

Thanks for the tips. My daughter has been in Japan for 8 years now but she has only been to Kyoto once and just for a day. She speaks Japanese very well and is married to a Japanese so there won't be any problems getting around.

I am sure it will be a culture shock being from a small town in the woods of Maine. I am told that my wife and I have to go to the nude hot spring baths in Beppu with her husbands family. That should be a highlight of the trip. Gee, I just can't wait for that one. Last time I went skinny dipping was with a TWIG party back in 1976.

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Oh, and one more favorite thing of mine in Kyoto. The first Sunday of every month they have a flea market at the Toji Temple. Toji is easy walking distance from the train station. The flea market is just basic junk that they have for sale at any American flea market, but it's Japanese junk, so it's much more fun. You can get Kimono for 1,000 yen (about ten bucks) and all sorts of basic crap. If you're into scrounging and looking for a bargain, it's a "don't miss" kinda deal.

The other basic tourist destinations in Kyoto are Kiyomizudera (famous for it's healing waters [everybody's got one, don't they?]), Kinkakuji (the Golden Temple), Ginkakuji (the Silver Temple), and Ryuanji (famous for it's rock garden - if you're not heavily into Zen, you can skip this one), oh and Inari Shrine (famous for the numerous "torii" gates). There's also a couple of really outstanding art museums there. Kyoto was never bombed during the war so there's lots of really outstanding ancient buidlings still there. I have a good friend who owns a Ryokan right in the heart of Kyoto on a famous temple grounds. If you're interested in staying in one, let me fix you up with "Robahsan" (Robert). He also deals in high-end Japanese antiques.

Have a great time. I may be there sometime shortly after you (I haven't been in a couple of years now, and I kinda miss it). Remember, shoes off if it's not masonry, barefeet or stocking feet only on tatami, wear the wooden geta to use the toilet (and no, the slippers and geta they have to offer you will NOT fit your feet, get used to it), and take a bath everyday about 4, and drink lots of biiru.

Tanoshinde koudasai!

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OH! One last thing, that's probably the MOST important. Get your JR Rail Pass HERE before you leave. You CANNOT purchase them in Japan, and you WILL need one. Try to get a pass to cover your entire stay, as they're just indespensible. You'll save hundreds - if not thousands- of dollars, if you travel around much at all. I routinely use mine several times a day, everyday I'm there...

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OH, also, when you're in Kyoto, have yushaku (supper) at "Gonko" (the name means "Stubborn" - ). It's a tea house/Geisha house/restaurant that's been operating on that site since the Momoyama period (about 500 years now). The garden surrounding the place all dates from that era I'm told. Anyway, there's often a Maiko or Geiko playing the koto at the front entry, there's still private tea rooms in the back, and a very traditional menu (which is really not that unusual, but). It's not spectacular, but it is pretty neat, and gives you a real taste of what Tokogawa-period Japan must have been like.

Oh, and also near Kyoto, is Byodoin (it's the building that's pictured on the back of the Japanese dime). It's easily the most beautiful building in Japan - REALLY...

Where in Kyoto is GONKOlocated? My daughter is very interested in going there. How much does it run per person in price? We are not on a strict budget, we just don't want to be too surprised.

We already have reservations somewhere in the city but I have no idea where. Also, we will be taking the high speed train there.

Once I get to Japan I will use her computer to update.

Thanks for the help

Bob - The Onion Eater

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Hi OE....sooo good to see you...I've been sooo busy....bought a house (finally) in Savoy, MA. in the mountains...today I was stacking wood (my life's dream)...long story....hope someday we'll meet again, perhaps next September at the CGF....I missed it this year... :(

Jet lag....ah yes....I know it well.....George is right....you'll be spunky and chipper once you get there...travelling west it doesn't catch up to you...just drink lots of water on the plane, try to sleep as much as you can, but that really won't matter....

It's flying back east that'll conck you out for a few days....How to deal with this jet lag? Easy solution....don't go to work for 2-3 days when you get home....in fact, don't plan ANYTHING!!!!

Japan is my last frontier....I've been wanting to go since I was a child...took Japanese in HS....studied their art....

Let know how you weathered the storm...and all the neat places you'll see!!!!! Bon Voyage!!! I'm jealous!!!

Love, Wacky

Edited by Wacky Funster
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Kore dozo:

http://www.gankofood.co.jp/en/

Sore wa "Ganko", gomenasai.

The prices were not at all exorbidant. Especially considering what the going rate is. I remember picking up the tab for Robah-san, mesume-san, and me after a wonderful meal, live koto music, lots of biiru, sake, and umeshu (a plum brandy, really sweet, but tasty), and I think it was around ichi-man en (10,000 en [yen]- about a hundred bucks), and the best part, NO tipping in Japan, EVER!

If you get invited back to a tea room (Wealthy businessmen will do this from time to time), don't miss it. Lots of sillyness, laughing, drinking, parlor games, and just generally a fun time. Very lighthearted. I wouldn't do it on your own, though, unless you're feeling particularly flush. It's pretty "takai" (expensive), even with the current economy.

Kyoto is really the cultural heart of the country. It's the "western" capitol. It was the capitol city of Japan until the Meiji restoration in 1867. And nearby Nara was the capitol before Kyoto. Between the two was when the country really formed.

Modern Japanese culture is pretty lame to me. But it's history just fascinates me. The subtle beauty and sensitivity contrasted with an unworldly brutality. It's so incongruous.

Some other stuff around the country that you might be interested in:

Himeji Castle (west of Kobe a half hour or so on the train) - the most complete castle complex left in Japan. It was never conquered. It's also pictured in just about every historical Japanese movie ever made. I thought it was well worth the hour or so we spent doing the tour. (Oh I should mention that the Japanese are absolutely shameless about "restoring" or actually, completely rebuilding, their historical buildings. Himeji was completely dismantled in the 50's and rebuilt, Kinkakuji was rebuilt from it's ashes in the 50's after a mentally disturbed priest burned it down, just about all of the noteworthy buildings have undergone extensive restoration, some of them several times.

Kintai Kyo (the Kintai bridge) - Recently completely rebuilt bridge of several arches on stone foundations. It's a really famous site and is pictured in all sorts of Japanese art. A beautiful structure, but a basic touristy place. It's a little west of Hiroshima.

Miyajima - Famous for it's overly large Torii gate that sits offshore a quarter mile or so. Nothing really remarkable there, but a famous spot all the same and very pretty. They have a Noh theatre on the shoreline. Noh is an acquired taste though.

Nikko - The mountain town famous as the burial place of the first Shogun of a united Japan, Ieyasu Tokugawa. A really magical place. It's also a noted woodcarving center. Numerous inordinately ornate temple complexes, gates, pagodas, fabulous scenery, waterfalls, sacred sites, great little shops in town.

It's an hour or so north of Tokyo. Take the Shinkansen to the local train station, then it's another hour or so up the mountain. If you go, plan to spend the night. I heartily recommend "Rindo no Ie" (Rindo's house). A cozy - and reasonbly priced - "minshuku" (Japanese bed and breakfast) a mile or so from the train station. A sweet, older couple who owns the place, and the food is WONDERFUL. The last time I was there (a few years ago now) the rates were $125/person/day, which included THREE meals.

It'll take you two or three days to figure out the trains, but, once you do, you'll never want to travel any other way.

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Wacky

Long time no see. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures on my "myspace" site. I haven't been to the CG Fair for a couple of years, maybe we can meet there next year.Be careful with the wood stacking, I got a very serious injury during my WOW year doing that and had to have surgery when I returned home.

www.myspace.com/rmdaigle

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